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iimrV . ^O-Oi^ *SL/L^GLsZsfl*tr V&ff-UC' 



ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC, 



BV THE 



MANAGERS 



COLONIZATION SOCIETY 



OF 



tmsiiOTm 



QWi\\\ an atpjicirtf).'. 



NEW-HAVEN t 

PRINTED BV TRF.ADWAY AND ADAMS, 

1828. 



AN 



4DDRESS TO THE PUBLK 



MV THI 



jgtouajKtrs of tlir <£oiottffattou Society 



CONNECTICUT. 



WITH AWT APPENDIX 



NEW-HAVEN : 

PRINTED BY TKEADWAY AND ADAM? 

1828. 






- 



OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY, 

ELECTED AT THE FIRST ANNUAL MEETING, MAY 6, 182b' 



His Excellency GIDEON TOMLINSON, President. 

Hon. JOHN T. PETERS, Hartford, >" President* 

Prof. BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Yale Coll. \ Vice rresutenu 

Rev. LEONARD BACON, New-Haven, Secretary. 

SETH TERRY, Esq., Hartford, Treasurer. 

His Hon. JOHN S. PETERS, Hebron, 1 

Hon. EBENEZER YOUNG, Killingly, 

Rev. JOEL H. LINSLEY, Hartford, 

Rev. SAMUEL MERWIN, New-Haven, 

Rt. Rev. T. C. BROWNELL, Wash. Coll. \ Managers. 

Rev. T. H. GALLAUDET, Hartford, 

Hon. SETH P. BEERS, Litchfield, 

Hon. JOHN ALSOP,*Middletown, 

Hon. RALPH I. INGERSOLL, New-Haven, J 









-»»©*«— 



To the People of Connecticut. 



Triends and fellow Citizens, 

In behalf of the Colonization Society of the State of Connec- 
ticut, we beg leave to address you on a subject intimately 
connected with the honor and the dearest interests of our 
common country, and identified with the great cause of human 
happiness. 

You are often called upon to lend your influence to schemes 
of patriotic enterprise and Christian benevolence. The elastic 
spirit of our age has long been busy here and has been moving 
you to effort. You have founded and are sustaining noble 
institutions of education. You have engaged in the work of 
sending the Scriptures into every family. You have long been 
contributing to impart the means of instruction to the ignorant 
and destitute. You have not held back from the enterprise of 
giving to Pagan tribes the blessed influences of the gospel. The 
spirit which has prompted you to effort aims at doing good to 
all within its reach ; — it finds none too degraded for its benefi- 
cence, none too distant for its sympathy. It seeks to perpetuate 
and to brighten that bright legacy of character and of privileges 
which has come down to us from sainted ancestors. It seeks to 
scatter every where the seeds of social improvement and of 
spiritual life. It seems to forget none of the children of degra- 
dation, or of intellectual and moral want. To the Pagan and 
the Mahommedan — to the degraded and abject in our cities — to 
the inmates of the manufactories rising along the streams of our 
New England — to the settler on the prairies of the far South- 
west — to the boatmen of our mighty rivers — to the sailor on the 



erty can do any thing ior him, education and properti can ,i 
as httfe for his children after him. Would you set before h^ 
the importance of a good character ? But of how much "due 

is character to him who stands now, and must aluavs a „d , 

dWon of f de f° f S ° C , iety? , IUstl,1S ^gradation of the con- 
dition oi our free coloured population which ensures then- 
degradation of character, and their degradation of char 'etc 
reacts to make their condit.on stdl more degraded lie con- 
stitute a class by themselves-* class out of which no individual 

tins i* tJm 3 r ,d b f l0W Which ' none ca » be depreLed And 
his is the difficulty the invariable and insuperable difficulty™ 

the way of every scheme for their benefit. Much can be done 
ior them-much has been done ; but still they are, and in this 
country always must be a depressed and abjeel race. 

2. Another principle, in which the friends of the Colonization 
Society have been united from the beginning is, that the Zm-ovc 
ment and < ultimate abolition of slaterfmust be brought ab I (l 
moral influence only, and must be done by the people of the save 
hOdmg states themselves, of their oJwill* There* inted 
SEd".™'? W r lC J , S,aVe,y ™y at SOme time « «ther be alol 
ons nZ?r ° f ab0,ltl ° n at the thou S ht ° f which the heart sick- 
ens and the imagination revolts in horror ; but that is the very 
catastrophe winch the promoters of this undertaking were anx- 

ZrYT- D f g t( \ aVert \ But h ° W in this count 'V can slavery be 
abohshed,,f not by violence and insurrection. By Legislation" 

Ih relor^r? ° f " ^^ ParliamCDt is illdeed -trodudng 
Wrmofslavery and preparing its gradual suppression in the 
Bri.sh Colonies; b ut the circumstances of the slave-hold " 
Mates m th, s confederacy, preclude the thought of any such in? 

erference here. The Legislatures of the States where slaver 
doe, not exist have no more to do with the laws and social insti- 

uuonsof he States where it does exist, than they have to 
do with the mditary and ecclesiastical establishments of the 

nCTr 11 W ( T S " . ThB Nati ° nal G ^rnment has no control 
over the subject, for the right of the slave-holder to his property 
.guaranteed by the very compact on which the National Govern- 
ment rests for its existence. The Legislature of each slave- 
holding State can Legislate only for its own constituents. Those 

DeStel^l/ thC f FVantS ° f ih ° P eo P ,e i ™ d *"* the 
people of those States demand the abolition of slavery, then 
slavery will be abolished and not till then. 

3. A third point in which the first promoters of this object were 
united is, that few individual slave-holders can in the present 
state of things, emancipate their slaves if they would. There is 
acer am relation between the proprietor of slaves and theheings 
ho. thrown upon him which is far more complicated and fit 
leas oas.lv dissolved than a mind unacquainted with the subject 



Is ready to imagine. The relation is one which, where itexfsfc, 

grows out of the very structure of society, and for the existence 
of which the master is ordinarily as little accountable as the 
slave. Tt is a relation, like the relation of parent and child, or 
master and apprentice, involving reciprocal duties — on the one 
hand protection and support, and on the other hand obedience. 
It is an arbitrary relation in that it does not result from the neces- 
sary condition of human nature but rather from an artificial and un- 
natural organization of society ; and yet it is not arbitrary in any 
sense which implies that it depends for its existence, or its con- 
tinuance on the consent of the parties. You may go to a slave- 
holder and propose to him to emancipate his slaves. You may 
set before him all the evils of slavery in the most vivid col- 
ours. You may make him feel those evils as strongly as you 
feel them. But what shall he do ? Perhaps the laws of the 
State forbid emancipation as an act which goes only to swell the 
amount of pauperism, and wretchedness, and crime. But suppo- 
sing there is no legal obstacle in the way ; what shall he do ? 
Here are a hundred human beings dependent on him for protec- 
tion, and support, and government, and he, on the other hand, is 
dependent on their services for the means of supporting himself 
and them. This relation he did not voluntarily assume ; he was 
born the proprietor of these slaves, just as really as he was born 
the subject of civil government. It is his duty, a duty which he 
cannot avoid, to make the best provision in his power for then- 
sustenance and comfort. It is proposed to him to emancipate 
them. He looks around him and sees that the condition of the 
great mass of emancipated Africans is one in comparison with 
which the condition of his slaves is enviable ; — and he is convin- 
ced that if he withdraws from his slaves, his authority, his sup- 
port, his protection, and leaves them to shift for themselves ; he 
turns them out to be vagabonds, and paupers, and felons, and to 
find in the work-house, and the penitentiary the home which they 
ought to have retained on his paternal acres. This is no unreal 
case. There may be slaves— there are slaves by thousands and 
tens of thousands— whose condition is that of the most abject dis- 
tress ; but these are the slaves of masters whose whole conduce 
as a constant violation of duty, and with whom the suggestion of 
giving freedom to their slaves would not be harbored for a mo- 
ment. The case which we have supposed is the case of a mas 
ter really desirous to benefit his slaves. Hundreds of humane 
and Christian slave-holders retain their fellow-men in bondage 
because they are convinced that they can do no better. 

The simple object of the American Colonization Society is to 
plant Colonies of free blacks from the United States upon the 
coast of Africa. This object they have been pursuing for eleven 
vears, and they are now more fully convinced than ever that fhe 



accomplishment of this object will be attended with the best re 
suits, both as it respects the improvement of the character and 
condition of llie free blacks, and as respects the gradual and safe- 
abolition of slavery. 

Vi hat such Colonies are to do for the free blacks it is not diffi 
cult to understand. Here the black man is degraded. You 
may call him free, you may protect his rights by legislation, you 
may invoke the spirit of humanity and of Christian benevoience 
to bless him, but still he is degraded. A thousand malignant in- 
fluences around him are conspiring to wither all that is manly and 
noble in his nature. But in Africa he becomes a member of a 
community in which he is not only free but equal. There he 
stands up to be a man. There he has a home for himself, and 
for his children after him. There as he looks about him on a 
soil of unrivalled and almost incredible fertility, on the dark for- 
est already beginning to fall at the approach of civilization, on the 
varieties of mountain and valley and stream, already known by 
names dear to freedom and benevolence, on all the magnificence 
and luxuriance of that tropical -land, he can feel that there is bis 
home, the land of his fathers, the refuge of the exile, and that 
there his children through succeeding ages shall enjoy a rich and 
noble inheritance. There he finds himself moved to industrious 
and honorable, and virtuous enterprize, by all the motives that 
inspire and quicken the freemen of our own New-England. Ev- 
ery man of colour who removes from the United States to our 
African Colonies, remover from a land of degradation, from n 
land where his soul is crushed and withered by the constant sense 
of inferiority, to a land where he may enjoy all the attributes of 
manhood and all the happiness of freedom. 

The successful establishment of these colonies will not only 
bless the colonists themselves but will react to elevate the 
standing of those who remain behind. From beyond the Atlan- 
tic there will come a light to beam upon the degradation of the 
negro. Let it be known among the coloured population of this 
country what Africa is, and what advantages it offers to the 
emigrant ; and soon the selfsame spirit which now lands thou- 
sands of suffering Irishmen every year upon our shores, will be 
yearly landing thousands of our free blacks upon the shores of 
Africa. 

What effect the execution of this scheme is to have on the 
progressive abolition of slavery in our country may be easily 
shown. 

1. In the first place, it will give to many benevolent masters 
an opportunity for the safe and happy emancipation of their 
slaves. This scheme solves the dilemma in which many ;/ 
humane and Christian slave hohlcr has found himself. It shows 
him how he can free his slaves, ami at the same time free himself 



from the responsibility of holding them in bondage, and at the same 
time secure the permanent improvement of their condition. Al- 
ready has many a benevolent holder of slaves availed himself of the 
opening which is thus presented. In the State of North Carolina 
the entire community of Quakers have emancipated their slaves 
and by their own contributions have provided for their emigration 
to more favorable climes. 

2. In the second place, the prosecution of this scheme will 
excite discussion and will fix public attention on this great 
national interest. Attention, discussion is what this subject 
needs. We need attention and discussion — not declamation 
aiming at no good result — not the invectives of heated politi- 
cians — but calm, serious, kind investigation, leading the nation to 
estimate the extent and nature of the evil more exactly, and 
seeking out the remedies by which it may be alleviated and sub- 
dued. To this result the scheme is even now most obviously 
fending. What has already been done in the way of freeing and 
transporting slaves has sent a thrill through the hearts of thou- 
sands. And every new example of this kind, as it awakens new 
applause will act on public opinion with a wider and more pow- 
erful influence. Good men and patriotic men in the slave - 
holding States will be led to examine the subject anew ; they 
will see it in new relations, they will regard it with new emotions. 
Thus the public mind will be gradually enlightened, and public 
opinion will be renovated. 

3. In the third place, the successful prosecution of this plan 
will soon make the abolition of slavery through the world a thing 
inevitable. Slavery will never exist in any community much 
longer than it can be rendered profitable to the slave-holder. 
The reason why slavery was never successfully introduced into 
New-England, and the reason why it is already nearly abolished 
in the middle States, is principally the absolute impossibility of 
sustaining it. It is an established and now a familiar principle 
that the labor of slaves is far more expensive and far less produc- 
tive than the labor of freemen. The labor of one freeman is 
equal in value to the labor of three slaves. Consequently the 
product of free labor can everywhere be sold at a far lower rate, 
than the same articles produced by slave-labor. If the slave- 
holders of Maryland and Virginia could have a monopoly of 
wheat and tobacco they could make their system of slavery 
profitable. But the fact is that slavery in those States is un- 
profitable, and is felt to be a burthen, and is therefore growing 
unpopular. And the reason of that fact is, that they have not 
and never can have the monopoly which they need. The pro- 
ducts of their slave labor come into competition with the pro- 
ducts of free labor. And while the price of wheat and tobacco 
ia pourinrr back wealth on the farmers of New- York and Ohio, 

2 



10 



and Ohio could raisf cotton i. I ? mi ? ° f N ™-YorJ 

as they raise wheat slavery n^lthl g K ^ COffee aud indi g°> 
arable a burthen as i Ts [, Vir * T* WouId be as *S 

would be gradually word™ ou In ^ *"? £•** WOfId °™ *« 
-che, Slavery j. SdKow on,X^?' "f *!* ^ 
enjoys. onJV °y the monopoly which it 

yea B r S U Vete: i t,"tt S ^od%ri C r SfU,iy 11 P ; U - 9Ued ' a » d ■ *w 
hands of fre^en Then he'e w!li a b: * C " Ili ? lad ^ *• 
slavery can be sustained and L ■ °, monopoly on which 
will be ; not far distant Thenlt .ITr' 8 * 1 I™*™ ofs ^very 
sudden commotion b u t bvhPn f' ff 1 ° y vioIence » not bv 

that it is a hurt en to^lfeVvv tnT er *' ^ ° pim ° n ' conv '«cecl 
wisdom and the Tpowe^of ? Z^tnT^hu 9A CaUin § on U,e 
but sure removal of fhe curfe CfleCt the ***** and "* 

^pris^S^^ Wi* the success of our eu- 

of the slave trade still nil JT' a " ent "»- We might tell 

its suppression^ b IXWy Te "(M ^\^ •*« 
Sierra Leone. We miX .oH, Y V Coloni es of Liberia and 
barbarism, and or .which o t ItT ? a co ^ nent c °™«° with 
has ever sinned. Bui k "«£Lh f ^ ,lwatl0n ? r of Christianity 
as these. We nee^l^i^r f^ considerations 
m detail how the prosecution of n ° r this appeal to show 

and perpetual end T^L^^hR^ T * Speed ^ 
the indignation of the world in vain 1V«! , S ° lon - roused 
our Colonies the light wil sp "ad Uhe t^""^ ^ te]1 b ° W from 
tains, when sunin.it aftei summit' an? i^ "^^- 
the sunbeam. Your thoimh I ii and ; alle y after valley catches 
Africa, so long dar lei ed a 1 £Z« T^ *? the tirae " h °» 
deemed from its m series and 1 S L / "*?*"*• shM be re- 
shall be filled with the ^^TZ^£ ***** and 

willing and qu^otake "MS£" h ? '" "' f ° Und 



'I ! 

and utterly defeat the enterprise. Then there were few who hao 
that prophetic scope of judgment, or that deep and inspiring en 
thusiasm of benevolence which could endure such disheartening 
anticipations as seemed inseparable from the project. Then it 
was no wonder that the people of New England, knowing little 
of the nature, and feeling nothing of the direct pressure of thai 
flood of evils for which an outlet was to be provided, looked on 
the scheme with comparative apathy and incredulity. But the time 
for apathy or incredulity, the time for doubt or backwardness is past. 
During the first five years there was little to encourage the 
promoters of this object and much to create despondency. From 
the inexperience of their Agents in Africa, from the treachery 
of native proprietors with whom they were compelled to negotiate 
for territory, from the diseases of the country, and from the as- 
saults of savage enemies, they suffered multiplied calamities. 
And at home there were obstacles hardly less discouraging. By 
some whose favor they had anticipated with confidence, the en- 
tire project was scouted as chimerical. By others every appeal 
of theirs was received with indifference. By others their motives 
were misunderstood, and their expectations misconstrued. The 
friends of abolition opposed them because they did not go far 
enough, and charged them with a design to perpetuate the evils 
which they hoped to remedy. The friends of slavery hated them 
because they went too far, and charged them with a rashness of 
philanthropy that was to be the ruin of their country. But for 
the past six years a kind Providence has been pleased to smile on 
the undertaking. The Society is now in possesion of a Territory 
extending one hundred and fifty miles on the sea coast. The 
Colony consists of more than twelve hundred souls. It is defend- 
ed by fortifications sufficient to repel any probable attack. It is 
under the immediate direction of a man,* who, by six years of ar- 
duous and successful effort, has given the most abundant proof of 
his competency for the work, and of his devotion to the noble en- 
terprise. It is enjoying all the blessings of a government repub- 
lican in spirit, well regulated, and wisely administered. It has 
under its jurisdiction eight several stations by means of which it 
maintains an extensive commerce with the natives. Its principal 
town, which bears the venerated name of the late Chief Magis- 
trate of this nation, is a thriving commercial village, whose port 
is ' rarely clear of European and American shipping.' The insti- 
tutions of religion are planted there ; houses are erected for the 
worship of the Living God ; and on the bold promontory of Mon- 
rovia, the white spire, pointing to the heavens, stands a beautiful 
monument of the triumph of the gospel in that land of blood and 
darkness. Every child in the Colony enjoys the advantages of 

■J, A.sbmun,E-"t- 



12 

Bchoo|s, for the support of which the settlers in addition to whai 
the Society has done, contribute by voluntary subscription eleven 
hundred dollars annually. Not only are the institutions of reli- 
gion and education enjoyed, but their influence is seen in the or- 
der, peace^ industry, contentment and happiness of the commu- 
nity. I he light of civilization and religion is gradually spreading 
among the savage tribes of the vicinity. Missionaries from the 
Baptist churches of this country, have for years been stationed 
at the Colony. Others from the Protestant Episcopal Society 
and from the American Board of Foreign Missions, have been 
appointed to that work and are soon to embark. And even the 
Lutheran church of Germany and Switzerland has directed its 
evangelical efforts to Liberia, as affording the best means of ac- 
cess to heathen Africa ; and intelligence has just been received 
that two missionaries well qualified and amply furnished for their 
work, have already arrived, as pioneers of a much larger force ex- 
pected soon to follow. In a word a civilized Christian Colony— 
the germ of a nation— has been planted on the coast of Africa 
and is already diffusing light through its benighted regions. 

Such success gives palpable demonstration that the scheme 
is something more than a chimera. The consequence is that the 
undertaking is daily exciting more and more attention, is becom- 
ing better understood, and is enlisting in greater numbers warm 
and devoted friends. It is awaking a deep and earnest interest 
throughout our land ; and, especially in the slave-holdina States 
it is fixing public attention and eliciting inquiry and discussion 
on that great national interest, the remedy and ultimate removal 
of the evils connected with the condition of our coloured popu- 
lation. Already has it been- agitated, and soon will it be thor- 
oughly discussed in the halls of our national legislature. 

The Colonization Society of the State of Connecticut, in 
behalf of which we now address you, was organized in the hope 
of concentrating and heightening that interest in this noble 
undertaking which is known to exist among the people of this 
State. A year has just elapsed since the formation of the 
Society was announced to the public. The managers had hoped 
by the employment of some competent agent to bring the subject 
in detail before the minds of their fellow citizens. That hope 
has been hitherto disappointed, but is not yet finally relinquished' 
Meanwhile we bring before you, for your candid consideration, 
the summary statements contained in this address. And as our 
J rcasurer's account for the last year shows that without a word 
of solicitation, and without any direct effort on our part, two 
hundred dollars have been thrown into the treasury, we arc the 
more encouraged to hope that this appeal to your patriotism and 
your Christian feeling will not be made in vain. 



.13 

We ask you to bestow on this subject a fair and thorough 
investigation. And that you may know fully what has been 
accomplished, and what is now going cm we beg leave to com- 
mend to your special notice the publications of the National 
Society. We are bold to say that no man whose mind is open 
to conviction can read the annual Reports and the Monthly 
Magazine of that society — so full of the most striking and unan- 
swerable facts — without becoming interested even to enthu- 
siasm. 

We ask you to use your influence towards forming in this 
community a correct and vigorous and active public opinion 
respecting the claims of Africa. We ask you to use your influ- 
ence in your several spheres, towards rousing inquiry and diffu- 
sing information on this great subject. Who that understands 
the merits of this enterprise may not in this way lend it an effi- 
cient patronage ? Who may not in this way contribute some- 
thing towards forming that strong current of public opinion which 
will by and by direct the application of the national resources 
for the fulfilment of this national design ? 

We ask your contributions. A subscriber of thirty dollars at 
one time becomes a member for life of the National Society. 
The payment often dollars at one time, or of one dollar annually 
is the condition of membership in this auxiliary. How many 
men are there in Connecticut who might, without material in- 
convenience to themselves, and without subtracting any thing 
from their ordinary charities, constitute themselves life members 
of the parent institution ? How many more who might with 
equal ease become either annual or life subscribers to the Con- 
necticut Society ? How many ministers of every denomination 
might be constituted members of the National or State Society, 
by the benefactions of their people ? In which of our towns or 
villages might not the exertions of a few spirited individuals 
secure a public contribution to this great national object, on 
the anniversary of our independence ? There are in this State 
one hundred and twenty-nine incorporated towns. If the average 
amount of only thirty dollars could be raised annually among 
the citizens of each of these towns, it would send nearly four 
thousand dollars every year to diminish the yearly increasing 
pressure of the greatest curse which rests upon this nation, and 
to build up the institutions of freedom and intelligence and piety 
on a continent over which darkness and misery have brooded 
for uncounted generations. 

We trust that this appeal, brief and imperfect as it is, will not 
be in vain. For we address a community famed for its intelli- 
gence, and controlled by feelings of unquestionable benevolence. 
We bring before you one of the most momentous interests of 
the country which we all 16ve. We bring before you the wants 



14 



of two millions^ 'iellow ta*n f . v ;. f - 

«* fellow citizens-two SoS2^°! ° Ur »***« Soil » ™d yei 
country degraded to the dust Ztllt ♦ T*" J ,0 P uIa ^n of this 
«t.onsof our freedonT We Sfff^ the , boa8ted *™ " 
the yet unabolished slave-trade 5 T?" you the norrors of 
t«e pagan inhabitants of Africa ' wf ' TP of *% »*&»* of 
a "tie Christian settle™ ^.Tj^^^a-dfitf 
at the expense of toil and suffe ri, I ■ °° & barb «ous shore 
Pat.ent and persevering L tud i I 7? lncicdi ble, and by a 
Such intents, such wi^^J? 1 ^^"" ^man nature 
to treat with apathy. We nrav ™ , GSe ' you are not wont 
As you look round on your fwl £2 to r remc '" l '« these thin™ 
Muufanu, your cwE^Jffjft !■*»*• ~ng of tl c 
industry, your homes of peace and „ ■♦ rUIls of c,iter Pnse and 
«chon j, your thousand noble fifiS* T ^"^ *>« 
you, the poor African in the nUUt n ' , ' get UOt ' we P"* 
rnan scarcely happier than thT s ave U *' ^ t? ° r the K 
Wossmgs yet having no inhe ■ ance i \l ?" round ? d r b y ■» these 
™»7 of that land whose coTsXie^ TE&I** ^'^ not «* 
cruelties of Christian and American 1 hal f de P0P«I«ted by the 
tnbes are sunk under the conthc ted ^fw^* 8 ' and "W 
and superstition and endless sava*i« *%**»**— of barbarism 
the return of our national SSSMJta A "f ^'^ °» 
ulation are pealinoon vo»r P1f ! wnenit « thousand notes of arat 
of your fellow cU^lT^^^^o, many mi] C' 

§ra tefni devotion at the altars of S^ J °ft ° r bowin g with 
backward to the insumifican* U? u °«,— then, as you look 

ward to the great ^SSSSaS^ ° f ^ *"&* « d **- 
J" TO you to remember att, n eet S b" OW "S ra ? ,d,y reveab "S> 
* coast of Africa, that da, -is cele bra edl "J 1 " 8 **** "^ 
with a joy as deep and rational « vnm Y & ,7"* of freemen 
lnfl «enceofsuchassocialionrdp;!f yWS; , and then ' under the 
viate the evils ^wSTdS^S^^ 1 ^ wi » A °*» alle- 
jons is inflictin „ on £%££* antr, P T ,ati ° n of two md - 
— ons, our ^dotn, o^^ZT^Z^l^ 



TREASURER'S ACCOUNT 



— »e@«<"— 



1827. 

July 25. 



Aug. 10. 

« 14. 

« 24. 
" 28. 

Sept. 3. 

" 8 

i( 12 



'< 15 

" 17 

■ 28 

Oct.- 17. 

Nov. 3. 

1828. 

Feb. 27. 

April 8. 



May 3. 



Cash 



Do. 

Do. 
Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 



Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 

Do. 



Do. 
Do. 



Do. 



do. 

do. 

do. 



do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 



do. 



*■} 



collected July 4,.Mo. Concert, Hartford 
Centre and North societies, by 
C. Goodwin 

Farmington, by Edward IIool 
e.r, Esq. 

E. Windsor, N. Society 
Manchester, 1st Society, by) 
Deacon Talcott $ 

From Hebron 1st Society, by ) 
Rev. Lyman Strong $ 

From Mr. Abel Brown, Canton 
Vernon 1st. Society, by Mr. C. ) 
Pinney S 

Hartford South Soc, by Rev. \ 
Mr. Linsley S 

Salisbury 1st. Society, by Rev. ) 
Mr. Lathrop $ 

Derby 1st Society, by Rev. ) 
Mr. Swift i 

From Mr. Hawley Olmsted,.) 
for Repository two years J 

Watertown, individuals, by the } 
Rev. Mr. Hotchkiss S 

E. Windsor 1st Soc, by Rev. ) 
Mr. Robbins ) 

Somers 1st Soc, by Kev. Mr. ( 
Strong S 

Hebron, Gilead Soc, by Rev. ) 
Mr. Nichols 5 

Franklin, by Rev. Mr. Nott 



$15 ■>' 



do. 
do. 



do. 



do. 
do. 



do. 



Farmington 3d Soc, by Rev. ] 
Mr. Kellogg < 

Bolton, individuals, by Mrs/ 
Abigail Parmele, to constitute 
Rev. Lavius Hyde a member 
of the Am. Col." Soc. for life t 
Subscribers $1 each 
From Richmond Mass., contri- 
bution July 4, by Rev. Mr. 
Bacon 

From Milford Con., contribu- 
tion July 4, by Rev. Mr. Bacon 



Expenses, 



27 


41 


10 


2. r , 


11 


17 


6 


5 a 


1 




13 


76 


10 




8 


25 


5 


50 


4 




ii 


50 


14 42 : 


3 


28 


2 


68 



Balance to new account, 

SETH TERRY, Trmsvrcr 
Hartford, May 3d, A. D. 1828. 



5 50 

30 

12 
16 31 

10 30 

223 25£ 

3 40 
219 8Sl 



APPENDIX. 



The following documents are subjoined as affording a minute and 
authentic view of the actual state of the African colony. 

Address of the Colonists to the Fiee People of Colour in the U. S. 

At a numerous meeting of the citizens of Monrovia, held at the 
Court-House on the 27th day of August, 1827, for the purpose of 
considering the expediency of uniting in an address to the coloured 

people of the United States, John H. Folks, Esquire, in the chair It 

was 

Resolved, That a committee of four persons be appointed, to frame a 
circular address to be published in the United States, for a better infor- 
mation of the people of colour in that country respecting the state of 
this Colony, and the condition of the settlers — and 

That Captains James B. Barbour and F. Devany, W. L. Weaver, 
Esq. and the Rev. C. M. Waring and George R. McGill, be the com- 
mittee to prepare, and report the said address, on Tuesday the 4th dav 
of September next. 

Tuesday, September 4th, 1827. 
The forenamed committee reported the following address, which was 
adopted and ordered to be transmitted to the United States, and there 
published for the information of the coloured people of that country. 

(CIRCULAR.) 

As much speculation and uncertainty continues to prevail among the 
people of colour in the United States, respecting our situation and 
prospects in Africa; and many misrepresentations have been put in 
circulation tliere, of a nature slanderous to us, and in their effects inju- 
rious to them; we feel it our duty by a true statement of our circum- 
stances, to endeavour to correct them. 

The first consideration which caused our voluntary removal to this 
country, and the object which we still regard with the deepest concern, 
is liberty — liberty, in the sober, simple, but complete sense of the word 
—not a licentious liberty — nor a liberty without government — or which 
should place us without the restraint of salutary laws. But that liber- 
ty of speech, action, and conscience, which distinguishes the free 
enfranchised citizens of a free state. We did not enjoy that freedom 
in our native country : and, from causes, which, as respects ourselves, 
we shall soon forget forever, we were certain it was not there attaina- 



1/ 

foi ourselves ov our children. This, then, being the first object o 
our pursuit in coming to Africa, is probably the first subject on which 
you will ask for information. And we must truly declare to you, that 
our expectations and hopes in this respect, have been realized. Our 
Constitution secures to us, so far as our condition allows, '• all the 
rights and privileges enjoyed by the citizens of the U. States:" and 
these rights and these privileges ar*! ours. We are proprietors of the 
soil we live on ; and possess the rights of freeholders. Our suffrages, 
and, what is of more importance, our sentiments and our opinions have 
their due weight in the government we live under. — Our laws are alto- 
gether our own : they grew out of our circumstances; are framed for 
our exclusive benefit, and administered either by officers of our own 
appointment, or such as possess our confidence. We have a judiciary, 
chosen from among ourselves ; we serve as jurors in the trial of others ; 
and are liable to be tried only by juries of our fellow citizens, ourselves. 
We have all that is meant by liberty nf conscience. The time and 
mode of worshipping God, as prescribed us in his word, and dictated 
by our conscience, we are not only free to follow, but are protected in 
following. 

Forming a community of our own, in the land of our forefathers ; 
having the commerce and soil and resources of the country at our dis- 
posal ; we know nothing of that debasing inferiority with which ouv 
very colour 6tamped us in America : there is nothing here to create the 
feeling on our part — nothing to cherish the feeling of superiority in the 
minds of foreigners who visit us. It is this moral emancipation — this 
liberation of the mind fifom worse than iron fetters, that repays us, ten 
thousand times over, for all that it has cost us, and makes us grateful 
to God and our American patrons for the happy change which has 
taken place in our situation. We are not so self-complacent as to rest 
satisfied with our improvement, either as regards our minds or ouv 
circumstances. We do not expect to remain stationary. Far from it. 
But we certainly feci ourselves for the first time, in a state to improve 
either to any purpose. The burden is gone from our shoulders : we 
now breathe and move freely — and know not (in surveying your present 
state) for which to pity you most, the empty name of liberty, which 
you endeavour to content yourselves with in a country that is not 
yours; or the delusion which makes you hope for ampler privileges in 
that country hereafter. Tell us; which is the white man, who, with a 
prudent regard to his own character, can associate with one of you on 
terms of equality ? Ask t», which is the white man who would decline 
such association with one of our number whose intellectual and moral 
qualities are not an objection? To both these questions we unhesita- 
tingly make the same answer: — There is no such white man. 

We solicit none of you to emigrate to this country ; for we know 
not who among you prefers rational independence, and the honest re- 
spect of his fellow men, to that mental sloth and careless poverty, 
which you already possess, and your children will inherit after you in 
America. But if your views and aspirations rise a degree higher— if 
your minds are not as servile as your present condition — we can decide 
the question at once ; and with confidence say, that you will bless the 
day, and your children after you, when you determined to become citi- 
zens of Liberia. 

But we <h^ not hold this language on tlio blessing of liberty, for the 

3 



n; 

purpose 01' consoling- ourselves for the sacrifice of health, or the Buffer- 
ing of want, in consequence of our removal to Africa. We enjoy 
health after a few months' residence in the country, as uniformly, and 
in as perfect a degree, as we possessed that blessing in our native coun- 
try. And a distressing scarcity of provisions or any of the comforts of 
life, has for the last two years been entirely unknown, even to the 
poorest persons in this community. On these points there are, and 
have been, much misconception, and some malicious misrepresentations 
in the United States. 

We have nearly all suffered from sickness, and of the earliest emi- 
grants, a large proportion fell in the arduous attempt to lay the founda- 
tion of the Colony. But are they the only persons whose lives have 
been lost in the cause of human liberty, or sacrificed to the welfare of 
their fellow men? Several out of every ship's company, have within 
the last four years been carried off by sickness, caused by the change 
of climate. And death occasionally takes a victim from our number, 
without any regard at all to the time of his residence in this country. 
But we never hoped by leaving America, to escape the common lot of 
mortals — the necessity of death, to which the just appointment of 
Heaven consigns us. But we do expect to live as long, and pass this 
life with as little sickness as yourselves. The true character of the 
African climate is not well understood in other countries. Its inhab- 
itants are as robust, as healthy, as long lived, to say the least, as those 
of any other country. Nothing like an epidemic has ever appeared in 
this Colony ; nor can we learn from the natives, that the calamity of a 
sweeping sickness ever yet visited this part of the continent. But the 
change from a temperate to a tropical county is a great one — too great 
not to affect the health more or less — and in the cases of old people and 
very young children, it often causes death. In the early years of the 
Colony, want of good houses, the great fatigues, and dangers of the 
settlers, their irregular mode of living, and the hardships and discour- 
agements they met with, greatly helped the other causes of sickness, 
which prevailed to an alarming extent, and was attended with great 
mortality. But we look back to those times as to a season of trial 
long past, and nearly forgotten. Our houses and circumstances are 
now comfortable — and, for the last two or three years, not one person 
:in forty from the middle and southern States has died from the change 
of climate. The disastrous fate of the company of settlers who came 
out from Boston in the Brig Vine eighteen months ago, is an exception 
to the common lot of emigrants: and the causes of it ought to be ex- 
plained. — Those people left a cold region in the coldest part of winter, 
and arrived here in the hottest season of our year. Many of them 
were too old to have survived long in any country. They most impru- 
dently neglected the prescriptions of our very successful physician, the 
Rev. Lot Carey, who has great experience and great skill in the fevers 
of the country — and depended on medicines brought with them, which 
^ould not fail to prove injurious. And in consequence of all those un- 
fortunate circumstauces, their sufferings were severe ; and many died. 
But we are not apprehensive that a similar calamity will befall any 
future emigrants, except under similar disadvantages. 

People now arriving, have comfortable houses to receive them ; will 
enjoy the regular attendance of a physician in the slight sickness that 
mav await them: will be surrounded and attended bv healthy and 



Eg 

happy people, who have borne the effects of the climate, wuo will ei 
courage and fortify tlieni against that despondency, which alone, has 
carried off several' in the lust years of the Colony. 

But you may say, that even health and freedom, as good as they 
are, are still dearly paid for, when they cost you the common comforts 
of life, and expose your wives and children to famine and all the evils 
of want and poverty- We do not dispute the soundness of this conclu- 
sion neither— but we utterly deny that it has any application to the 
people of Liberia. 

Away with all the false notions that arc circulating about the bar- 
renness of this country — they are the observations of such ignorant or 
designing men, as injure both it and you. A more fertile soil, and a 
more productive country, so far as it is cultivated, there is not, we be- 
lieve, on the face of the earth. — Its hills and its plains, are covered 
with a verdure which never fades ; the productions of nature keep on 
in their growth through all the seasons of the year. Even the natives 
of the country, almost without farming tools, without skill, and with 
very little labour, make more grain and vegetables than they can con- 
sume, and often more than they can sell. 

Cattle, swine, fowls, ducks, goats end sheep, thrive without feeding, 
and require no other care than to keep them from straying. — Cotton, 
coffee, indigo and the sugar-sane, are oil the spontaneous growth of 
• iir forests; and may be cultivated, at pleasure, to any extent, by such 
as are disposed. The same may be said of rice, Indian com, millet, 
and too many species of fruits and vegetables to be enumerated. Add 
1o all this, we have no dreary winter here, for one half of the year to 
consume the productions of the other half. Nature is constantly re- 
newing herself— and constantly pouring her treasures all the year 
round, into the laps of the industrious. We could say on this subject 
more, but we are afraid of exciting too highly the hopes of the impru- 
dent. Such persons we think will do well to keep their rented cellars, 
and earn their twenty-five cents a day, at the wheel-barrow, in the 
commercial towns of America; and stay where they are. It is only 
the industrious and virtuous that we can point to independence and 
plenty, and happiness in this country. Such people are nearly sure to 
ittain, in a very few years, to a style of comfortable living, which they 
may in vain hope for in the United States. And however short we 
come of this character ourselves, it is only a due acknowledgment of 
the bounty of Divine Providence, to 6ay, that we generally enjoy the 
good things of this life to our entire satisfaction. 

Our trade and commerce is chiefly confined to the coast, to the 
interior parts of the continent, and to foreign vessels. It is already 
valuable and fast increasing. It is cairied on in the productions of the 
country, consisting of rice, palm oil, ivory, tortoise shell, dye woods, 
gold, hides, wax, and a small amount of coffee ; and it brings us in re- 
turn, the products and manufactures of the four quarters of the world. 
Seldom, indeed, is our harbour clear of European and American ship- 
ping; and the bustle and thronging of our streets, show something, 
already, of the activity of the smaller seaports of the United States. 

Mechanics of nearly every trade are carrying on their various occu- 
pations — their wages arc high, and a large number would be sure of 
taut and profitable employment. 

|. or yonth in the Colony; bul is provided with an appro* 



20 

priale school. We have a numerous public Library and a Court-House, 
Meeting-Houses, bchool-Houses and fortifications sufficient or nearlv 
so, for the Colony in its present state. * 

Our houses are constructed of the same materials, and finished in 
the same style as m the towns of America. We have abundance of 
good building stone, shells for lime, and clay of an excellent quality for 
bricks. Timber is plentiful of various kinds, and fit for all the different 
purposes of building and fencing. 

Truly we have a goodly heritage; and if there is any thing lacking 
m the character or condition of the people of this Colony, it never can 
be charged to the account of the country: it must be the fruit of our 
own mismanagement or slothfulness, or vices. But from these evils 
we confide in Him, to whom we are indebted for all our blessings to 
preserve us. It is the topic of our weekly and daily thanksgiving to 
Almighty God, both m public and in private, and he knows with what 
sincerity,— that we were ever conducted by his providence to this 
shore, Such great favors in so short a time, and mixed with so few 
trials, are to be ascribed to nothing but his special blessing. This we 
acknowledge. We only want the gratitude which such signal favours 
call for. Nor are we willing to close this paper without adding a 
heartfelt testimonial of the deep obligations we owe to our American 
patrons— and best earthly benefactors ; whose wisdom pointed us to 
this home of our nation; and whose active and persevering benevo- 
fenee enabled us to reach it. Judge then of the feelings with which 
we hear the motives and the doings of the Colonization Society tradu- 
ced— and that, too, by men too ignorant to know what that Society 
has accomplished ; too weak to look through its plans and intentions • 
or too dishonest to acknowledge either. But, without pretending to any 
prophetic sagacity, we can certainly predict to that Society, the ulti- 
mate triumph of their hopes and labours ; and disappointment and de- 
feat to all who oppose them. Men may theorize, and speculate about 
their plans in America, but there. can be no speculation here. The 
cheerful abodes of civilization and happiness which are scattered over 
this verdant mountain, the flourishing settlements which are spreading 
around it— the sound of Christian instruction, and scenes of Christian 
worship, which are heard and seen in this land of broodino- pagan 
darkness— a thousand contented freemen united in founding a new 
Christian Empire, happy themselves, and the instruments of happiness 
to others : every object, every individual, is an argument, is demonstra- 
tion, of the wisdom and the goodness of the plan of Colonization 

Where is the argument that shall refute facts like these?— And 
where is the man hardy enough to deny them ? 

Extracts from the last published communication of Mr. Ash- 
mun to the Board of Managers. 

Caldwell, November 2S, 1827. 
The established state of the Colony— a treasure of past experience— 
the confirmed health of the settlers— our better knowledge of materials 
tor every useful work— and a path trodden smooth by use, begin, now. 



•:\ 

lis the t'ruit of perseverance in the unfavorable circumstances of \oi- 
mer years, to requite in a fuller measure, the labor, and expense bes- 
towed on the improvements of the Colony. Every month adds to it 
some new acquisitions, discloses some new resources — or produces 
some new valuable improvements. 

The dry season is but just settled. Four new decked schooners have, 
however, been already built, fitted for sea, and actually gone abroad 
under the flag of the Colony. Three more of the same description, all 
new, will follow in a very few weeks — and these exclusive of three 
more decked vessels, and a variety of open coasting craft before in use. 
Meet of these vessels have been wholly built at Monrovia, of country- 
materials, except iron, copper, pitch, and cordage. 

We have the present year succeeded in introducing cows into the 
Colony from the interior. Formerly they were prohibited, and male 
cattle only suffered to be sent to market. It is but a fe v months ago, 
that the Colony had no others, except the produce of a cow brought 
from Sierra Leone in 1822. We have now, in all, 14, and begin to 
get milk in considerable plenty. Monrovia has a butchering establish- 
ment, which slaughters never less than two bullocks weekly — some- 
times four, and even more, when beef is in demand. We have a path 
•open, about 120 miles towards the Northeast ; by which we receive as 
many bullocks, as we choose to order. 

There is one team of small but good oxen in use ; and several others 
DOW breaking in — and will shortly be serviceable. And we have at 
length succeeded in possessing ourselves of that invaluable animal, the 
hortc. Francis Devany deserves the credit of introducing the first, a 
vigorous steed, a few weeks since. Several others, arc now ordered. 
The path from the interior direct to the Colony, by which horses will 
hereafter be brought into it, is at present too difficult to allow them to 
pass. While on "this subject, permit me to enumerate the different 
species of domestic animals and products, rearing, and which, we have 
reason to expect, will ever hereafter be had in the Colony, in the great- 
est plenty. If not— it is certainly not the fault either of climate, sea- 
sons, or soil — but must be wholly chargeable on the indolence of the 
settlers. 

Of Animals, &,-c. We have, (now,) Horses, Cattle in abundance. 
Sheep, Goats in abundance, fowls, ducks, geese, Guineafowls, swine in 
plenty. — I'ish, arc no where found in greater quantities. Asses, are 
lately introduced. Fruits, are, Plantain*, liananas, (reges frugum) in 
endless abundance — Limes, Lemons, T<unarinds, Oranges, Soursop. 
Caslew, JUangoe — 20 varieties of the Prune — Guava,Papaw, Pine-ap- 
ple, Grape, tropical Peach and Cherry. 

'//»/'. v, are, Sweet Potatoe, easily made and the crop abundant — 
Cassada, the chief edible root of the 'country, grows almost without 
culture— I './»i*, not so easily made, but a better vegetable, beginning 
to be plenty— Cocoa, a root easily grown, and nearly equal to the Yam. 
Ground-nuts, sowed often in Rice-fields, very prolific— Arrow-Root, 
easily made, nutritious, but best for sale— Egg-plant, grows, once plant- 
ed, without culture, very prolific— Ocra— every variety of Beans, and 
most sorts of Peas— Cucumbers, indigenous— Pumpkins, the several 
varieties succeed well. 

Grains, are, Rice, the staple; several crops by way of experiment 
:he past season; it is a sure crop, but requires assiduous care- — fai*an 



#cf 



Corn, does not succeed well, there is something unfriendly in eithe- 
soil, or climate ; supposed to be the too great heat of the latter. Cof- 
fee, of an excellent quality, and abundantly sufficient for the wants of 
the Colony. Pepper, of three varieties, of which either is equal to the 
Cayenne. Millet and Guinea Corn, easily raised, but little cultivated. 
Their place is supplied by the rice of the country. 

Cotton is not yet cultivated, except on a small scale — staple good. 

With the pardon of the Board, while on these minutiae, I will here add 
a sketch of the inside economy of this little community. 

The older classes of settlers, fixed in comfortable dwellings, and sur- 
rounded with their little cultured premises, are variously, and in gene- 
ral, successfully and actively employed in the coasting commerce, and 
the country trade ; either through the factories, or at home. To this 
they add, as a source of profit, their transactions with trading vessels — 
and several of them, the exercise of their mechanical trades. Most of 
the mechanics of long standing, have from four to ten or twelve appren- 
tices and journeymen working under them To the same class is res- 
tricted, in the first instance, the benefit of nearly all the public money 
expended in the Colony — whether in the payment of salaries, job work, 
or building materials. They are now beginning to add both to their 
comfort and their independence, by agriculture. Belonging to this ' 
class of settlers, is to be found, nearly all the trading capital, and much 
the greatest proportion of the whole wealth of the Colony. And it 
comprehends a large half of its entire population. 

A second class (estimated at one third of the population) have, after 
an exhausting effort, just placed themselves in their new — some, even 
not yet quite finished — houses ; and are completing with great- zeal 
and solicitude, the improvements on which the titles of their lands de- 
pend. Many, having large families to support, while thus burdened 
with the severe labour of subduing a piece of forest land, and erecting 
houses, and very few bringing with them a spare dollar, feel the pres- 
sure of their circumstances, at this period, more sensibly than at any 
other perhaps in their lives. Earlier, they received a little weekly aid 
— (and a little, in an industrious and thrifty family, goes a long way,) 
from the public store. Later, they will have emerged into a state of 
comparative independence and ease — having houses over their heads, a 
title to their lands in their pocket, cleared and cultivated enclosures 
about them, and generally a healthier habit of body from a longer resi- 
dence in the climate. But at the stage I speak of, settlers are in want 
of all these comforts and helps — and obliged by their incessant exer- 
tions, to create them all. Many of this class live, slenderly fed, slen- 
derly clad, and not seldom, while the pressure lasts, indulge desponden 
ey ; and some of them even complain, that for ideal privileges, they 
have abandoned many substantial comforts, in America. If mechanics, 
they spend nearly all their earnings in purchasing building materials — 
and in carpenters', masons', and labourers' hire, about their own houses. 
If simple farmers, or common labourers, it costs them two days' labour 
in every week for their more opulent neighbours, or the public, to get 
provisons for themselves and families ; two days more to pay for such 
building materials and clothing as they cannot make for themselves : 
and the remaining two days they spend on their buildings and lands. 
This is nearly the proportionate distribution of their industry, taking r- 
month or season together. Some who have credit, go in <lebt at this 



23 

stage oi their residence in the Colony, and thus protract their embaj 
;jonts a couple of years longer. 1 do what I can to sustain a reso- 
lution in tliis emergency — encourage special industry, or merit strug- 
gling with too many difficulties at once, by a little seasonable relief— 
give them the refusal of certain little jobs, and contracts which promise 
to pay them best — and, to their credit be it said, few are found ungrate- 
ful ; and few but acquit themselves in this season, with much credit; 
and, as the reward of their perseverance, look forward, in a few months, 
lo an casv and respectable establishment in the Colony. 

The third class consists of settlers not a twelvemonth in the Colony. 
Most of these are yet in the Public Receptacles, and in rented houses. 
Imperfectly inured to the climate, they are incapable of severe labour 
— receive (for the early part of the period under consideration,) a little 
rice, tobacco, &c from the public store, weekly— labour moderately, 
cither on their own lots, and in preparing shingles, &c. for their future 
houses, hire themselves, as journeymen, or labourers, to the Ider settlers, 
or employ themselves in preparing lumber, lime, stones, &c. &c for sale. 

To these may be joined a fourth class, not quite useless to the Colony 
— but altogether so to themselves. Men and women of too little fore- 
cast to see a month into the future, or care for any part of their lives 
except the present hour. They lose their lands, because they never 
feel the necessity of taking measures to secure them, till it is too late. 
They never build houses, because a house can,/or the present month, be 
hired much cheaper than they can build one. All the incurably lazy of 
the Colony, of course, muster in this class, but not a few, from a blind and 
constitutional improvidence, are referred to it, who labour hard the year 
round, but know not how to use their industry for their own benefit. 

The truth compels mc to say, that the sources of trade and commerce 
naturally belonging to the Colony, placed as it is on the central part of 
a coast of vast extent, and bordering on populous and industrious na- 
tions in the interior of the continent, are not a tenth part explored : and 
until they shall be both explored and occupied, and so long as this vast 
field of commercial enterprise holds out new inducements to the settlers, 
to enter upon and cultivate it : is agriculture destined to follow in the 
train of trade, and not to lfad it. Then, and not till then, is it likely 
■ hat the tide of industry will shift its direction, and be made to 6et very 
strongly towards any other object. In the meantime it has been my 
invanable practice to hold out all possible encouragements, to the en- 
terprise and perseverance of the farmers. The premiums authorized 
to be proposed for this end, by the Board of Managers, the last year, 
have to a certain extent, been beneficial. The survey on which the 
the first annual award of these premiums is to be made, is now accom- 
plishiner. But, a9 it was made a condition of carrying the several pre- 
miumsfthat the competitors should not only excel others, in the several 
crops, &c but should deserve them, for the absolute value of those 
crops', and by the style of their work, as well as its relative quantity, I 
am apprehensive that not more than $50, out of the $200, will bo, this 
year awarded at all. But the competition has proved useful, and prom- 
ises much better effects the ensuing year. All the practical farmers 
of Caldwell, (and most of the inhabitants are of this number,') are asso- 
ciated into an Agricultural Society. They meet weekly for the purpose 
of reporting, individually, the pro'gress they have made in the week, on 
♦heir plantations. These reports are recorded. Two, three or more 



26 

Certain fatigue service^ and much drudgery connected With the 
defence of the Colony, there is to be done — and as this duty requires 
nothing but a pair of able hands, it is divided in the shape of a labour- 
tax amongst all the settlers. But the duty of bearing arms, and of en- 
rolment in the serviceable militia of the Colony, is left to the public 
spirit of the people. And I am pleased to be able to state, that there 
are but about half a dozen able-bodied men, not specially exempted, 
who are not, by voluntary enrolment., members of an uniformed corps. 

The oldest of these companies, is Captain Barbour's Light Infantry — 
composed of select young men, completely armed and equipt, highly 
disciplined (relatively) — and consisting of about forty men. Uniform, 
light blue, faced with white. 

The next, in age, is Captain Davis's, (Caldwell,) heavy Infantry. 
Uniform, white with blue bars — well armed and accoutred, and indif- 
ferently well disciplined. It has, at the present moment, fewer men 
than the Light Infantry, but will during the ensuing season become the 
larger company. 

The third is a company of Light Artillery, Monrovia, composed of 
select young men — completely uniformed and equipt, and having been 
lately organized on the new principle, consists of only about thirty 
men. But, as this corps is exceedingly popular, it must very rapidly 
increase for some time to come. Capt. Devany is the present command- 
er of the corps. Its uniform, deep blue with red facings. 

The fourth corps is also a newly organized Artillery company, com- 
manded by Captain Prout— and belongs to Caldwell. Its number is 
nearly equal to Captain Devany's. 

No. 5. is properly a detachment of twenty Guards, under Lt. John- 
son; enlisted, or drafted for one year from the body of the citizens, 
for the exclusive purpose of manning Fort Norris battery. These 
guards being liable at any moment, to be called to their posts by a 
signal gun from the battery, ought to be in high discipline. We en- 
deavour to make them perfect in all that relates to the management of 
garrison ordnance. When stationed for the protection of foreign ves- 
sels, or for the detention of vessels attempting to violate the port, or 
commercial .regulations of the Colony, they are entitled to be paid each 
man, five cents per the hour. 

The Market House, of which a plan was sent home nearly 18 months 
ago, and a part of the materials at that time collected, after having 
been suspended from time to time since, is now proceeding with fresh 
spirit. The work was dropped in 1826, in consequence of a part of the 
settlers withholding their quota of the money required for its erection, 
from a disagreement as to its situation. And I did not feel authorized 
to make solarge an appropriation of the public funds, for such a build- 
ing, as a partial and limited contribution on the part of the people to 
the work, would require.— Its site is Central Avenue, a little to the 
Eastward of the centre of the present settled part of the town. 

A neat, but small building of two stories has been erected since my 
] ast, for a Colonial Dispensary. Hitherto, not only great inconvenience 
has been the consequence of having no building in which our medicines 
and hospital stores might be disposed in an orderly manner, but much 
loss by damage and waste, has been suffered from the want of one- 
The basement story is of mason-work — the upper, frame — well plas 
t.ered inside, and painted without. The building will cost about $270. 
mid be completed in Hie month of January. 



Iftet I January it is intended that a Packet Boat, large 

enough to accommodate 'M passengers with their baggage, will plv 
every second day between Monrovia and Caldwell, and return on the 

intermediate days; touching at Stockton Town, and the halfway 
farms, going and returning. — Such an accommodation lias become al- 
most indispensable, the intercourse between the settlements, particu- 
larly from Caldwell to Monrovia, and from Monrovia to the half way 
farms, having grown too frequent and large for individuals to provide 
themselves with the means of conveyance. It is not improbable, that 
■ >r three years will produce a demand for Steam-boat Engines in 
the Colony. A single Boat of about forty tons could, at this moment, 
be employed with advant eonomy, to ply, one half the year, 

between Monrovia, and all our factories. The climate is destructive 
to all machinery intended to work with exactness, unless kept in con- 
stant use; and it is only the circumstance <»f being obliged to lav up a 
Steam-boat for half of the year, that prevents an immediate application 
for one. 

Friday, December 2 1 , 18S 
Arrived, the U. States' ship, "Ontario,"' returning home from the 
Mediterranean, from Gibraltar, the llth of Nov. Captain Nicholson 
has kindly offered to take charge of letters. This gentleman has, since 
his arrival, taken unwearied pains to ascertain from personal inspection. 
♦ he true state, and 1 think has qualified himself to judge correctly of 
the prospects of the settlers. His Ship will probably remain live days 
at the Cape. 

Same day, arrived from Baste, by way of England and Sierra Leone, 
a pioneer of the Swiss Mission, to be established in Liberia. In May 
last, three Missionaries, Handt, I legale, and Sessing, all single, were 
deputed by the Evangelical Society of Basle, for Liberia. They arri- 
ved in England in June, where, pursuant to instructions, they remained 
till the 1 U!i of November, v. Inn they went on board, at London, of an 
English ship, bound to Sierra Leone, but. were obliged, by stress of 
her, to put back into Portsmouth. <>n the point of sailing from 
that pert, Hegele received a wound on the head, by the falling of a 
block, which, it was feared, would prove mortal. He was conveyed on 
shore, and necessarily left to the providence of God, and the care of 
Christian friends ; while the two others, .Messrs. liaiull and Sessing, 
proceeded on their voyage, and arrived at Sierra Leone about the 10th 
of the present month. On the 12th, the U. S. Ship Ontario, leaving 
Sierra Leone for Liberia, Capt. Nicholson generously offered the Mis- 
sionaries a passage to this place. It. was not possible, however, for a 
public vessel to bring more than a very small part of the very ample 
stores with which the munificence of European Christians had furnish- 
ed these devoted servants of Cod and man, on their final departure 
from their native country. Only one could, therefore, accept of Capt. 
overture, and Mr. Sessing has accordingly arrived here by thai. 
Ship, on the 21st. Mr. Handt awaits at Sierra Leone, a passage for 
himself and the Missionary property to this Colony. 

But these two gentlemen are only the pioneers of a much larger force, 
nearly ready to follow. Two more were on the point of leaving Swit- 
zerland, when these loll England, and may be expected in two months' 
lime. Dr. Blumhardt has written me, in the name of the Directing 
Committee ofthe Basle Evangelical Institution, a letter full of the most 



excellent sentiments, and of paternal and affectionate concern for the 
young men of the Mission. It is needless to say, that they possess the 
entire confidence of that judicious and excellent man, and his very res- 
pectable associates, and that all temporal views in the formation of this 
Christian establishment, are utterly discarded. 

The gentlemen of the Mission are all liberally educated, and all either 
possess mechanical trades, or have been accustomed to agriculture. I 
expect them to remain a t'cw months in our settlements, to learn to 
stand the climate, and then proceed to some station not upon the sea 
coast, nor yet, at too great a distance in the interior, and to sit down un- 
der the protection of the Colony. 

Eight coloured people, natives of the United States, and all capable 
of great usefulness, and recommended in strong terms by Capt. Nichol- 
son, have been discharged from the " Ontario," and received at the 
Colony, as probationers for citizenship. They have received in drafts 
on the United States, and otherwise, nearly three years' wages, which, 
well managed, will set them all up in business at once. 

Capt. N. also deserves, in behalf of the Colony, my very particular 
acknowledgments. Having, at Gibraltar, notice of the destination of 
his Ship, he was at the pains to procure for the Colony, from Tunis, a 
collection of most of the useful garden and other seeds, of African pro- 
duction. These, with other seeds collected in the Archipelago and 
Asia Minor, he has left in my hands. Our hope is, that they may so far 
succeed as to seed the Colony permanently with such species of the 
different vegetables as shall be natural to the climate, which we have 
in vain attempted to do with the American species. 

Capt. N. has, greatly to his own credit and my gratification, evinced 
not only a favorable disposition, but anxious solicitude for the advance- 
ment of your Colon)' — of which he has given more substantial proofs 
• ban by mere professions. 

Respectfully, Gentlemen, 

I have the honour to remain 

your obedient servant, 

J. ASHMUN. 



Copy of a Letter fiem Capt. Kichokon, of the U. S. Navy, to 
Hon. H. Clay. 

Washington, March 17, 1828. 

Sir, — Having visited the Colony- of Liberia, on my return to the 
United States, from a cruise in the Mediterranean, I cheerfully comply 
with your request, by presenting to you such views of its present con- 
dition and probable growth, as occurred to me in the course of that 
visit. 

The soil in the possession of the Colonists is rich, and will produce 
a superabundance for the support of the Colony, as well as for exter- 
nal commerce. Sugar, coffee, cotton, rice, and various trees and 
plants, yielding valuable dyes and medical gums, can be cultivated with 
success. 

The population is now 1200, and is healthy and thriving. The child- 
ren h^n in the country nre line looking, and I presume can be raised ?<» 



29 

easily as those of the natives. All the Colonists with whom I had any 
communication, (and with nearly the whole 1 did communicate in per- 
son or by my officers,) expressed their decided wish to remain in their 
present situation, rather than to return again to the United States. I 
cannot give you better evidence of the prosperity of the Colony, than 
by mentioning that eight of my crew, (coloured mechanics) after going 
on shore two several days, applied for, and received their discharge, in 
order to remain as permanent settlers. These men had been absent 
from their country upwards of three years, and had, among them, near- 
ly two thousand dollars in clothes and money. Had they not been thor- 
oughly convinced that their happiness and prosperity would be better 
promoted by remaining among their free brethren in Liberia, they 
would not have determined on so momentous a step as quitting the 
United States, perhaps for ever, where they all had left friends and 
relatives. 

The appearance of all the Colonists, those of Monrovia as well as 
those of Caldwell, indicated more than contentment. Their manners 
were those of freemen, who experienced the blessings of liberty, and 
appreciated the boon. Many of them had, by trade, accumulated a 
competency, if the possession of from three to five thousand dollars may 
be called so. As a proof of the growing importance of the commerce 
of the country, more than 100 hogsheads of tobacco had been used 
during the last year and the demand was increasing. Ivory and cam- 
wood are now the prominent articles received in exchange for foreign 
imports ; other dyewoods, and many medicinal gums and roots will be 
hereafter brought in, as they are already known to exist in the inte- 
rior. 

I take this occasion to suggest the propriety of permitting any of the 
Colonists to purchase an additional number of acres of land from the 
Agent. By permitting this, the more enterprising will be enabled to 
turn their attention to the culture of the coffee-tree, which grows spon- 
taneously in the vicinity of Monrovia. In fact, the soil will produce 
every thing which a tropical climate will allow to arrive at maturity. 

From the good order and military discipline which appear to prevail 
among the Colonists, I am induced to believe they could easily repel 
any native force. They have arms, and having associated themselves 
in volunteer companies, have acquired the knowledge of using them 
with effect against any probable force which might be brought to bear 
upon them, by undiciplined and scattered tribes in their vicinity. It is 
true, they have no harbors for large vessels, as all their rivers are ob- 
structed by bars. This is not of much consequence to their coasting- 
trade, as they have many harbors and inlets, which are accessible to 
small vessels. Large vessels have also one advantage, that most of 
the heavy winds are off the coast, which gi^es them a lee and a smooth 
sea. Off Cape Mesurado, there is a good anchorage, and on the pitch 
of the Cape they have planted a battery, which will protect any vessel 
that may need it, from piratical depredations. 

I would respectfully suggest, for your consideration, the propriety 
of making the principal Agent of the Colony a " Commercial Agent," 
as cases have occurred on the coast, where such an appointment might 
have proved the means of rescuing American property from the hands 
of foreigners, who have maintained possession of it in consequence of 
there being no legalized American Agent on the coast. 

The importance of this Colonv, as regards the native tribes of the 



30 

coast, is m nay estimation, great. Tlicy already begin to peVceive that 
it is civilization and the blessings of religion, which give superiority to 
man over his fellow man. They had supposed it was the white skin; 
but now they see in their neighbourhood, men of their own colour en- 
joying all those advantages hitherto deemed peculiar to the former. 
This lias elicited a spirit of inquiry which must tend to their benefit. 
The philanthropist may anticipate the day when our language and re- 
ligion will spread over this now benighted land. The slave trade will 
cease, as the Colony progresses and extends its settlements. The 
very spot where now exists a free people, was a depot for the reception 
of manacled slaves. This fact alone is entitled to consideration, and 
ought to arouse the zeal of the friends of humanity every where. 

Our large cities complain of the number of free blacks, who have by their 
petty crimes, filled their penitentiaries. Would not the Colony be ben- 
efitted by the labour of these men, and the community relieved by their 
transportation? I certainly think the Colony is sufficiently strong both 
morally and physically, to prevent any injury from their admission. I 
do not pretend to point out the mode or character in which they ought 
to be received. This I leave to those who are more able to judge on 
the subject. I see that the Colony is now in want of numbers, to clear 
and cultivate a country which will amply repay them for their labour. 

I take leave to mention, that the climate is much like that of all simi- 
lar latitudes ; and as the land is rich, and most of it still is woods, we 
must expect that bilious fevers will sometimes prevail; but I do not 
think it more unhealthy, to the coloured people, than our extreme 
Southern coast ; and as the soil of Liberia becomes cleared and culti- 
vated, I have no doubt it will be found as healthy as any other South- 
ern latitude. It was, I believe, never intended that the white man 
should inhabit this region of the globe; at least we know that the dis- 
eases of the climate are more fatal to him than the man of colour. 
They luxuriate in the intense heat, while a white man sinks under its 
exhausting influence. I confess, sir, that since I have visited this Col- 
ony, I felt a strong interest in its prosperity, and hope that it will thrive 
under the auspices of a society, among whom are some of our most dis- 
tinguished citizens. 

If what I have communicated shall prove instrumental, in the slight- 
est degree, to sustain you in the cause of humanity, and of this degra- 
ded race, 1 shall rejoice that my duty called me to witness the growing 
prosperity of the Colony of Liberia. 

With sentiments of high respect, I have the honour to be, your obe- 
uient servant, 

JOHN B. NICHOLSON, 

Late Commander of the U. S. Ship Ontario. 

The Hon. Henry Clay, 

Vice President of the Cohnizalion Society. 



$1 
APPROBATORY RESOLUTIONS. 

Resolutions commending the cause of the American Colonization 
Society to the public, have been adopted by nearly every ecclesiastical 
body in the country. Those adopted by the Convention and Genera! 
Association of this State show what is the deliberate and officially ex- 
pressed opinion of the Congregational Ministers of Connecticut. The 
General Assembly of the Presbyterian church, several of the diocesan 
Conventions 01 the Protestant Episcopal church, the Baptist Genera! 
Convention, and many of the Methodist Conferences, it is believed, 
have adopted similar resolutions. 

Connecticut Convention. 

At an annual meeting of the Convention of the Congregational Cler- 
gy of Connecticut, at Hartford, May 2, 1827: 

Resolved, That this Convention does cheerfully recommend the Amer- 
ican Colonization Society to the charitable consideration of the Con- 
gregational Churches in this State, as an institution worthy of the pat- 
ronage of individuals, of the States, and of the Nation. 

Resolved, That this Convention cordially approves of the measure 
proposed by several ecclesiastical bodies in our country, of making col- 
lections in the churches for the Colonization Society, on the Sabbath 
immediately preceding or succeeding the Fourth of July ; and that they 
recommend such annual collections to the churches and congregations 
in this State. 

Passed in Convention. 

THOMAS ROBBINS, Secretary. 

Connecticut General Association. 

Resolved, That the Association do highly approve of the object and 
exertions of the Colonization Society, and do recommend to the Min- 
isters in our connection in this State, to use their influence, in that way 
that they shall judge proper, to aid the Society. 

State' of Connecticut. 

The following Resolution was adopted by the Legislature of this 
State in 1824. 

"Resolved, That the existence of slavery in the United States is a great 
national evil, and that the People and the States ought to participate 
in the burdens and duties of removing it by all just and prudent meas- 
ures, which may be adopted with a due regard to their internal peace and 
mutual harmony ; and that a system of colonization, under the patron- 
age of the General Government, may reasonably be deemed conducive 
to so desirable an object." 



SI 
CONSTITUTION. 

Art. 1. This Society shall be denominated, " Tlie Colonization 
Society of the State of Connecticut." 

Art. 2. This Society shall be Auxiliary to the American Coloniz. 
ation Society, whose object is to promote and execute a plan for Colo- 
nizing (with their consent) the free people of colour residing in our 
country, in Africa, or such other places as Congress shall deem most 
expedient. 

Art^ 3. An annual subscription of $1 shall constitute an individual 
a member of this Society ; and a donation at one time of not less than 
$10, a member for life. 

Art. 4. The Officers of this Society shall be a President, two Vice 
Presidents, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, who, with nine others shall 
constitute a Board of Managers, any three of whom shall make a quo- 
rum, and these officers shall be elected annually at the stated meetings 
of the Society ; and in case of the death or resignation of any of these 
officers their places, may be supplied by the Board. 

Art. 5. The Board of Managers shall hold an annual meeting on 
Thursday next following the annual meeting of the Society, at 2 P. M. 
and at such other times as they may by adjournment appoint ; and the 
Secretary shall request a meeting whenever any two members shall 
concur with him in opinion that such meeting is desirable. 

Art. 6. The Society shall hold its annual meetings in Hartford and 
New-Haven, alternately, on Tuesday evening preceding the day of 
General Election, of which the Secretary shall give previous public 
notice ; and at such meeting the Board of Managers shall present a Re- 
port of their proceedings. 

Art* 7. Any person who is or has been a member for life of any So 
ciety in this State, formed for this object, shall thereby be a member 
for life of this Society. 



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